China's military on Monday carried out a rare test of a ballistic missile launched from a nuclear-powered submarine into the Pacific Ocean, drawing criticism from Japan, Australia and New Zealand. Beijing described the launch as a routine military exercise that had been communicated to relevant countries in advance and was not aimed at any specific target. Yet the test, coming at a time of heightened strategic activity across the Pacific, has attracted attention well beyond its immediate military significance. The reactions it provoked and the broader context in which it occurred have raised questions about what the launch says about the region's evolving security landscape, especially amid an increasingly transactional approach to China by the US under Trump.
